Method of finishing ball-bearings.



F. STARIN.

METHOD OF HNISHING BALL BEARINGS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN- 15. I916.

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, Illlll wmvfss F. STARIN.

METHOD OF FINISHING BALL BEARINGS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 15, I916.

LQ268 Patented May 1, 19137.

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mm STAR/IN, F SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

METHOD OF FINISH ING BALL-BFARINGS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May a, ram.

Application filed Januar 15, 1916. Serial No. 72,260.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANK STARIN, a

I subject of the Emperorof Austria, and a resident of the city of Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Finishing Ball-Bearings, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to a method of finishing ball bearing rings.

In finishing, that is to say in grinding and polishing ball bearing rings, each ring must be mounted upon a chuck or similar holding means as many times as it has faces, each face being separately ground and polished. Since each ring has at least four faces, it must be mounted upon a chuck or chucks at least four times, which operations are rather expensive as they necessitate highly skilled labor. On the other hand, it is to be considered that great care must be taken in placing the ring upon the chuck so as not to injure or deface those faces thereof which have already been ground and polished.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a method for finishing ball bearing rings, whereby the process is made less expensive and injury to already polished faces is effectively prevented.

With these and other objects in View, which will more fully appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the invention consists in the process herein described and pointed out in the appended claims.

. Two of the many possible apparatus for carrying out the'method are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a central vertical section taken through a ball bearing made in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section taken through a chuck used in grinding and polishing the outer bearing ring, the latter being in operative position thereon; Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 33 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal section taken through a chuck for finishing the inner bearing ring, the latter being mounted thereon; Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 55 of Fig. 4;; Fig. 6 is a section taken through a modification of the chuck for holding the outer bearing ring, said ring being shown thereon; and Fig. .7 is a similar section taken through a modification of a chuck for the inner bearing ring, the latter being also shown in position thereon.

Broadly speaking, the method, forming the subject matter of the present application for Letters Patent, consists in providing grooves in that face of the bearing ring in Which the raceway is formed, said grooves being adjacent to the raceway and one on each side thereof, taking hold of and rotating the ring by means reaching first into one of said grooves and then by means reaching into the other one of said grooves, and abrading during these two holding operations all faces to be finished of the ring.

One of the many possible types of ball bearings adapted to be fiuishedin accordance with the present invention is illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings. This bearing comprises an inner bearing ring 10, having a bore 11, by which it is secured in any approved nianner to an axle or shaft 12. The ring may rest against a shoulder 13 upon the axle or shaft, and is provided with a raceway 1+L, in alinement with the raceway 15 of an outer bearing ring 16. The ring 16 abuts against a shoulder 17 upon a stationary part of the device, to which the ball bearing is applied, more particularly that side of the ring 16 is in abutment with the shoulder 17 which is opposite to that side of the ring 10 which rests against the shoulder 13 upon the axle or shaft. Between the rings is disposed a cage, comprising a ringshaped member 18, which is located transversely of and outside the raceways and supports a plurality of spacing or retaining elements 19, each of which embraces a ball 20, running in the raceways of the two rings.

In the outer face of the inner bearing ring are formed two annual grooves, indicated at 21 and 22, saidgrooves extending from the sides of the ring toward the raceway thereof whereby shoulders 23 are, provided on both sides of the raceway. The faces 24 of the grooves are conical for a purpose hereinafter to be described. In a similar manner are provided in the inner face of the outer bearing ring annular grooves 25 and 26, and shoulders 27. The faces 27 of these grooves are also conical.

Each of the bearing rings can be conveniently finished, that is ground and polished, in two operations. The grinding and polishing of the outer bearing ring is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings. For this purpose a chuck 28 is inserted into upon the said the groove 25 in said ring, an expansion member 29 holdin the said ring properly chuc A grinding wheel 30 serves to finish the outer face of the ring and the side 31 thereof, and a grinding wheel 32 the raceway of the same. After this operation, the chuck is inserted into the groove 26 in the ring, and the grinding wheel 30 used to grind and polish the side 33 of the same. The jaws of the chuck must, obviously, be rovided with conical faces 34 to fit'fhe comcal grooves in the ring. The inner bearing ring is mounted upon a chuck 35 (Figs.4 and 5), that first engages the groove 21 therein, a compression member 36 assuring a proper gripping of the jaws of said chuck. A wheel 37 grinds and polishes the inner face of this ring and its side 38, and a wheel 39 the raceway of the same. The chuck is then engaged with the groove 22 in said ring, and the grinding wheel 37 used to finish the side 40 thereof.

In the device described above, the faces 24 and 27 of the grooves in *the bearing rings are conical. In the modification shown in Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings the corresponding faces of the grooves form each part 'of a c lindrical surface. The chucks must, there ore, be shaped correspondingly. It is to be observed that in the construction described in connection with Figs 2 to 4, inclusive, a better grip on the rings is obtained with less effort.

From the foregoing it appears that each ring although having four faces to be finishe is mounted upon the same chuck twice only; The finishing process is, therefore, less expensive than those heretofore resorted to. Inasmuch as the chucks are seated in the grooves formed in the rings, the alreadypolished faces thereof cannot be injured.

What I claim is 1. A process of finishing ball bearing rings, which consists in providin conical grooves in that face of the ringm which the raceway is formed, said grooves being adjacent to the raceway and one on each side thereof, taking hold of and rotating the ring by means reaching first into one of said grooves said grooves, and abrading during these two holding operations the raceway, the sides and the face opposite to said raceway of the 2. The herein described process of finish- .ing bearing rings which consists in providing the ring with a raceway and reentrant grooves on opposite sides of the raceway, taking hold of the ring by revoluble means at one of the said reentrant grooves at one side of the ring and rotating the ring, and abrading the said raceway, the side opposite the raceway and the third unobstructed side of the ring, and while the latter is held and rotated by the revoluble means.

Signed at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, this 15th day of Dec., A. D. 1915.

. FRANK STARIN.

Witnesses:

Wmrmm Sco'rr LEE, LADISLAUS MARKUS.

and then into the other one of 

